Perry County lies in the broken hill country of southeastern Ohio, where New Lexington, Somerset, Crooksville, Roseville, Thornville, and smaller villages occupy separate valleys and road junctions. The county has no single broad plain: ridges rise between short creek valleys, and many roads bend with the terrain. This page separates settlement and road context, city distribution, waterways, and elevation so the county is easier to understand. High-resolution JPG originals of all four supplied maps are also available in the download ZIP for printing, close inspection, or study materials.
New Lexington and Somerset are useful first reference points. New Lexington sits south of the county’s center, while Somerset is northwest of it. Thornville and Glenford occupy the northwestern extension, Crooksville and Roseville define the east, and Shawnee, Rendville, and New Straitsville help orient the south. Once those places are located, the water and elevation views explain why the road pattern is so irregular: almost every part of the county is crossed by small valleys and closely spaced ridges.
Table of Contents
New Lexington and Somerset make the county easier to orient
New Lexington is the strongest central-southern reference on the general county map. State Routes 13 and 93 run through the broader area, and roads lead west toward Junction City, north toward Somerset, east toward Crooksville, and south toward Shawnee. Ed Newton Field is labeled just east of town, adding another recognizable point. Perry County’s official community page identifies New Lexington as the county seat, a role that matches its central position on the map.
Somerset is northwest of New Lexington near U.S. 22 and Routes 13, 669, and 757. Glenford lies farther north, and Thornville occupies the county’s long northwestern extension near Routes 204, 188, and 256. Those northern roads cross a landscape where ridges and creek valleys alternate at short intervals. The route network therefore looks less like a simple grid and more like a set of connections shaped by the surrounding hills.
The eastern side is organized around Crooksville and Roseville. Route 345 helps relate Crooksville to the New Lexington area, while Route 37 continues along the eastern side farther south. The county boundary bends repeatedly against Muskingum and Morgan counties, and local roads weave through narrow valleys near that edge. Roseville is especially useful as an eastern reference because the settlement lies close to the county line rather than deep in the interior.
Southern Perry County has a different pattern. Shawnee, Hemlock, Rendville, and New Straitsville are separated by more rugged-looking terrain, with Route 93 providing one of the clearest north-south references from the New Lexington area. Routes 155 and 13 help orient the southeast, while Routes 668 and 312 appear farther west. The static map is suitable for regional orientation, but current road construction, closures, and travel times should be checked through live transportation sources.
Six highlighted communities reveal a dispersed settlement pattern
The city-distribution map highlights New Lexington, Crooksville, Roseville, Thornville, Somerset, and Junction City. New Lexington sits in the central-southern part of the county, Junction City is west of it, and Somerset lies to the northwest. Crooksville and Roseville form an eastern pair, while Thornville is separated at the end of the northwestern extension. This simplified view makes the county’s irregular shape and widely spaced village pattern easier to understand.
The CITY INDEX includes values beside the six community names, but those figures belong to the supplied map and are not reused here as current official population estimates. Census reference years and local boundaries can change. The durable information is geographic: New Lexington anchors the interior, Crooksville and Roseville define the east, Thornville and Somerset orient the northwest, and Junction City provides a western-southern reference.
Perry County’s official community guide describes New Lexington as the county seat and largest community, while Crooksville and neighboring Roseville have a long pottery tradition. Thornville lies on the southern side of the Buckeye Lake area, and Somerset has its own historic town center. Those local differences matter because the highlighted communities are not interchangeable dots on a map; each sits in a different part of the county and relates to a different road and drainage setting.
Rush Creek and Monday Creek divide the hills into narrow valleys
The water map does not have one dominant countywide river. Instead, several medium-sized creeks and many short tributaries occupy separate valleys. Rush Creek crosses the middle of the county from west toward east, while Jonathan Creek and Turkey Run are prominent farther north. Around Somerset, Somerset Reservoir and Clouse Lake provide two easily recognized waterbody references among the smaller streams.
Monday Creek becomes the major named channel on the eastern side, with Crooksville Reservoir close by. In the southeast, Sunday Creek and West Branch Sunday Creek form another long drainage corridor, and Alliers Lake appears nearby. Little Monday Creek is visible farther southwest, while Little Rush Creek occupies part of the western interior. Together, these channels show how thoroughly small valleys divide the county.
The creek network matches the shaded terrain closely. Rush Creek and Monday Creek occupy lower corridors between ridges, and the smaller tributaries branch into those larger valleys. Perry County’s 2023 Hazard Mitigation Plan lists Monday Creek, Rush Creek, Jonathan Creek, Sunday Creek, Somerset-related reservoirs, and Crooksville Reservoir among the county’s streams and water bodies, confirming that the map’s dense drainage pattern reflects a broad countywide feature rather than one isolated watershed.
The water map is a geographic reference rather than a flood or navigation product. It does not establish legal water boundaries, current depth, stream flow, or boating conditions. That distinction is particularly important in a county with many narrow valleys, where runoff and local creek conditions can change significantly after heavy rain.
Elevation from about 193 to 363 meters emphasizes ridges and creek bottoms
The elevation legend reports an actual county range of about 193 to 363 meters, with a mean near 287 meters. Green marks the lower creek valleys, while yellow, orange, and brown identify progressively higher ridges. Unlike a broad agricultural plain, Perry County is covered by closely spaced relief: narrow low corridors repeatedly separate short upland ridges across nearly the entire map.
The northwestern Thornville and Glenford area contains broad patches of higher brown terrain, and ridges remain prominent around Somerset. The Rush Creek corridor forms a greener central passage, while Monday Creek creates a strong low valley along the east. Southern Perry County also has many low branches associated with the Sunday Creek system, but the ground rises quickly between them, producing a dense pattern of narrow ridges.
Brown on this locally scaled map should not be interpreted as mountain terrain comparable with a major mountain range. It simply represents the higher parts of Perry County. The elevation image is useful for broad county-level comparison, but parcel heights, road grades, drainage design, and construction measurements require the original USGS elevation data or professional surveying.
Use New Lexington and Somerset as fixed points across the map views
New Lexington is the easiest place to keep fixed while switching between maps. The road view shows Routes 13 and 93 and the connection toward Junction City. The city map places Crooksville, Roseville, Somerset, and Thornville around that center. On the water view, Rush Creek crosses the broader central area and Monday Creek becomes prominent to the east, while the elevation map shows those drainage corridors as lower green terrain between ridges.
Somerset provides a useful northern comparison. U.S. 22 and Routes 13, 669, and 757 identify the area on the general map. The water layer adds Somerset Reservoir, Clouse Lake, Jonathan Creek, and Turkey Run, and the elevation view shows hills rising directly around those valleys. The combination makes Somerset a good example of how settlement, roads, water, and relief are tightly connected in northern Perry County.
Crooksville and Roseville are better references for the east. Their close spacing is obvious on the city-distribution map, while Monday Creek and Crooksville Reservoir become the important features on the water map. The elevation surface shows a dense sequence of ridges and valleys around the same area, helping explain why local roads do not follow long straight lines.
Choose the Perry County map that matches the task
Use the general county map when you need New Lexington, Somerset, Crooksville, Thornville, numbered roads, and the county boundary on one page. The city-distribution map is cleaner when the main goal is comparing the six highlighted communities. Choose the water map for Rush Creek, Monday Creek, Sunday Creek, reservoirs, and the dense tributary network, and use the elevation map when the question is how low creek valleys relate to surrounding ridges.
The WebP previews on the page are convenient for quick viewing, while the high-resolution JPG originals in the ZIP below are better for printing and zooming into small labels. These products are regional reference maps and should not replace legal parcel records, live navigation, flood determinations, or survey-grade elevation data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which map best compares New Lexington and Somerset?
The city-distribution map provides the quickest location comparison, with New Lexington south of center and Somerset to the northwest. The general map is better when you also need Routes 13 and 93 around New Lexington and U.S. 22 and Route 669 near Somerset.
Which waterways are the best starting points for reading Perry County?
Rush Creek across the center and Monday Creek on the east are the strongest starting points. Sunday Creek and West Branch Sunday Creek define the southeast, while Jonathan Creek and Turkey Run help organize the northern half. Together they show how the county is divided into many narrow drainage valleys.
Can the 193–363 meter elevation range be used for surveying?
No. The elevation map is intended for county-scale comparison of low creek valleys and higher ridges. Exact parcel elevations, road grades, drainage design, and construction measurements should come from original USGS data or a professional survey.
Map File Information
The download ZIP contains high-resolution JPG originals of the Perry County general map, city distribution map, water map, and elevation map.
- File Type: JPG
Related Maps
Sources and references
- Perry County, Ohio · Villages, Townships and Communities – official county information about New Lexington and local communities
- Discover Perry County · Parks & History Map – local parks, reservoirs, lakes, and historical places
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles – county boundaries and geographic reference data
- USGS National Hydrography – rivers, streams, reservoirs, and hydrography reference data
- USGS 3D Elevation Program – elevation and terrain reference data
Green Map creates custom-edited map images using open geographic data sources such as geoBoundaries, Natural Earth, OpenStreetMap, and government open data. These maps are edited visual materials, not raw data files, and are provided for education, documents, presentations, and graphic reference.
